MLB (AL): The Rays are on fire. 6 straight wins, and you have to wonder if the Yankees are sitting there scoreboard-watching, going "Oh, come ON."

MLB (NL): Wouldn't it be ironic if the Dodgers jettison Manny, and only then go on some sort of playoff tear? I'm reading too much into Hiroki Kuroda's no-no through 7 and change, aren't I?

Close call for Team USA: They very easily could have lost that game to Brazil -- it doesn't bode well for the elimination rounds. Expect the pre-fab excuses to start being formed now.

(I pinged M. Haubs from The Painted Area, and he said to think of it like a one-off NCAA Tournament game, where style -- or in this case, rule changes -- keep games a lot closer than they would normally be, between roster talents levels that are wildly different.)

Brett Favre is ALREADY getting mid-game injections in his ankle? There's no way he makes it through the season, especially now that his WR corps has been obliterated.

US Soccer signs Bob Bradley to a new 4-year deal: Guess they couldn't come to an agreement with Klinsmann. I was not a big Bradley fan before the World Cup -- and I still put the blame for the team's consistently slow starts directly on the coaching -- but he has earned another shot at making a run in Brazil in 2014.

As long as the UFL is giving Maurice Clarett a job -- in a cynical move to get some much-needed PR -- they might as well take my advice and let draft-ineligible rising college sophs and juniors into the league. (I appreciate the plight of the start-up company; I only hammer them on this point because I think they need to be way more innovative than they have been.)

Kudos to the "Around the Horn" team for even talking about Jay Mariotti on the show. That said: Their discussion really only danced around the big issues and came across as clubby and defensive. (Preening disclosure: I appeared on Around the Horn as a panelist 4 times in 2004. And I even have the tapes -- not to mention the 0-4 record -- to prove it. I said many dumb things, including that the Lakers would sweep the Pistons in the NBA Finals. As they say, the camera adds 10 pounds of hyperbole.)

Good luck to the WAC in getting Nevada or Fresno State to pay up the $5 million the league is demanding for the schools bolting for the Mountain West. As usual, the counterparties will spend more in legal fees than a reasonable settlement.

Tiger Woods is NOT moving to New York City: Although, if he's visiting, he is welcome to babysit my kids anytime he wants a fix.

I like this story: Head & Shoulders insured Troy Polamalu's hair for $1 million. (Disclosure: I am in a blogger fantasy football league sponsored by Procter and Gamble.)

Heisman Watch: Mark Ingram is the defending Heisman winner (even if it's not entirely clear that he is the best RB on his own team), and he leads the initial HeismanPundit.com straw poll, with a slight edge ahead of Terrelle Pryor. I'll stick with my original pick: Boise State QB Kellen Moore (with Florida QB John Brantley as a surprise Top 3 finisher).

Dancing With the Stars: I remain entirely fascinated by the success of sports folks on this show. The new season includes two notable sports alums: Kurt Warner and my pick to win it all, Rick Fox. I could also see David Hasselhoff or Jennifer Grey winning. There are a lot of votes that will come out of "Dirty Dancing" nostalgia.

2 comments:

I disagree with you regarding your Clarett and USFL opinion in several ways. 1) Clarett has supposedly turned his life around (clean, talks to kids about staying clean, etc.), gotten into amazing shape, and earned a spot on that roster. It does not shock me at all that a dominate D-1 player can hang with measly USFL talent. I do not think it is entirely a publicity stunt. Note that I'm a Mich fan and still say this. 2) rising Sophs should not play in the USFL. Who cares about that development of that league? NCAA football is an NFL minor-league in itself and who would want to see some worthless league snatch its young talent. Rising sophs are not even fully-developed physically and you would see a drastic rise in injuries with these kids if they played in league with XFL outcasts who have nothing more to play for than to bash heads.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.